Garage space opens up

The downtown Sarasota commercial real estate market continues to inch back to recovery.

The downtown Sarasota commercial real estate market continues to inch back to recovery.

The newest entries to the revival party are commercial and retail space connected to the State Street Garage project in downtown Sarasota. The properties, combined, are priced at more than $2 million. An $11 million project planned at 395 spots, the garage hit some controversial patches when it weaved its way through the city process.

But commercial real estate broker Ian Black says the space, a block from Main Street and in the hub of several new projects, is a good find — regardless of the project's history. Sarasota officials retained Black to bring in offers for the two commercial spaces associated with the project. The first is the commercial space on the ground floor of the garage, nearly 14,000 square feet, that can be subdivided to fit tenants' needs. The second is a little more than 5,000 square feet of ground-floor retail in a building being built adjacent to the garage at the corner of State Street and Lemon Avenue.

“There's a healthy demand for commercial space in the downtown core,” Black tells Coffee Talk. “There's interest in downtown Sarasota. Cranes are back up again.”

The commercial space on the ground floor of the garage is priced at around $120 a square foot, according to a prospectus from Black's office. The price for the retail space is expected to start at around $370,000.

Offers are due by Aug. 6. Black is marketing the property through a media blitz and a targeted email campaign. He says he's already heard from several potential buyers, including a group of European investors considering spots in Fort Lauderdale who heard about Sarasota. Says Black: “I'm encouraged by the initial response to the marketing activities.”

This article has been updated to correct inaccuracies in the description of commercial property.